


Cinnamon Chai

by evanderblake



Series: Egobang [10]
Category: Game Grumps
Genre: Fluff, Love Confession, M/M, Polygrumps, Requited Love, ShipGrumps, confession fic, this was so much fucking fun!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-07
Updated: 2018-08-07
Packaged: 2019-06-23 14:26:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15608262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evanderblake/pseuds/evanderblake
Summary: Dan has been harboring some feelings for his co-host for far too long.





	Cinnamon Chai

**Author's Note:**

  * For [galactic-kitten-nonsense](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=galactic-kitten-nonsense).



> This fic is dedicated to @galactic-kitten-nonsense on Tumblr! Thank you so much!

Autumn remained to be one of Dan’s favorite seasons. It, similarly to spring, was a time of change. It wasn’t so much a season of rebirth or renewal, but one of redirection. In spring, you see plants coming back to life, hibernating animals making their reappearance, couples getting engaged or married. In fall, things begin to wither away, leaves began to fall, animals began gathering for their long naps. It was a time of change, just a different kind of change. 

Autumn also had the reputation for being a depressing season. Everywhere you look, plants are dying, people are getting sick, animals are starting to become scarce. Dan didn’t agree with this idea, however. Fall was a beautiful season full of bright colors and delicious foods. It was hard to hate fall. 

It was mid-October, and the air was starting to get cool, crisp. It was too cold to wear short sleeves, but not quite cold enough for a jacket. Arin was sitting outside at a park close to the office with a cup of tea, his best friend next to him as they watched the leaves fall off the trees. 

Arin had been discussing ideas for a video he wanted to start working on, and Dan was just… admiring him. He was gazing into his eyes like he was seeing them for the first time. He was speaking so passionately that it was easy for Dan to remember why they became friends in the first place.

But lately his head had been somewhere else. It wasn’t that he disliked Arin, it was actually quite the opposite. He was beginning to notice little things that Arin did, like how he would brush his hair back when he was frustrated, or furrow his brow when he was focused, or tap his foot when he listened to music. How he blew on his tea before he took a sip _every_ time, despite how warm it was. Dan found all these things incredibly endearing; they were things he wouldn’t notice with anyone else, just Arin.

And he questioned why that was, why Arin was so different than his other friends. Perhaps it was because he’d been together for so long, because they were together nearly every day for hours and hours. He thought it had just been that. But then Dan’s attention had been focused on different things, like how nice Arin looked when he wore certain outfits, or how smooth his hair was, or how nice his lips looked.

He looked at his lips a lot. He was somewhat surprised Arin hadn’t noticed him staring.

Dan wasn’t completely sure when the feelings had developed. He assumed it had been rather recently, but when he started to think back upon all their shared memories, he realized throughout nearly all of them, he had looked at Arin through rose-colored glasses. Whenever he would remember an event or a night they spent together, he instantly remembered how Arin laughed, how he smiled, the little things he would do for Dan just to be kind. 

And then Dan realized that he was truly in love with Arin. Because the way he thought about Arin, the way he would notice little things Arin did… those were the kinds of things he would notice in a girlfriend. He didn’t just want to be friends with Arin; no, he wanted so much more than that. When Dan finally allowed himself to entertain the thought that he might like Arin more than just a friend, he found his mind wandering to what he might do for their first date, questioning what kissing Arin would feel like, fantasizing about how soft Arin’s skin would feel beneath his grasp. 

Arin suddenly cleared his throat, and Dan realized he had been daydreaming again. 

“We should probably head back to the office. We’ve gotta finish up those episodes, right?” Arin announced with a small smile. They both loved doing Game Grumps together; in fact, it was what Dan looked forward to the most in his week, simply because it was just him and Arin all alone, something he was fortunate enough to have. 

“Probably. I’ve gotta catch up on Game of Thrones tonight before someone ruins something for me,” Dan answered, raising his hands above his head to stretch out his arms. He watched Arin’s eyes train down his torso to the small patch of skin that became visible when his t-shirt lifted. When their gazes met once more, Dan sensed something in his eye, something hungry.

Maybe his feelings weren’t as misdirected as he originally thought.

“Let’s go,” Arin said as he stood. “It’s getting kinda chilly out here anyways.”

The walk back to the office was a silent one. Arin swung his arms lazily as he walked, his face turned up toward the sky, admiring the scenery. Dan smiled as he watched the younger man walk without a care in the world. It made his heart feel full.

Once they arrived at the office, it took another ten minutes or so to get everything set up. Arin was in charge of getting the games in order while Dan was in charge of collecting drinks and snacks to keep them going for the next three hours. He was standing in the kitchen space brewing himself another cup of tea, a cinnamon chai blend that was slowly becoming his favorite. 

“Hey,” a voice behind him called, and he turned to find Arin rummaging through the bowl of popcorn Dan had set down, “Are you almost ready? Everything is set up.”

Dan blew on his tea and took a small sip, his senses overwhelmed with comforting spices. “Yeah, but first can I talk to you about something?”

Arin swallowed his last bit of popcorn. “Sure, is something wrong?”

“No, no, nothing is wrong,” Dan answered quickly, shaking his head. “I just… I have to tell you something. And I’m not sure how you’re going to react so I wanted to do it when we aren’t being watched by thousands of people.”  
“Alright that’s reasonable enough,” Arin grinned, folding his arms and leaning against the counter. “Talk to me, baby.”

Dan’s heart fluttered. “So we’ve known each other for a while, right?”

“Yeah, almost… what, seven years now? Eight?”

“A while,” Dan replied, stifling a laugh. “I’m not keeping track. I want to _lose_ track. That’s how you know it’s a good friendship.”

Arin made a sort of goofy face. “Well _jeez,_ Dan. I’m keeping track for the world record, but I guess you don’t care about that.”

Dan’s nose scrunched up as he held back his smile. “Arin… we won’t live long enough to break that record.”

“Don’t believe everything you read, Daniel.” His hand was back in the bowl of popcorn, grabbing a large handful and trying to shove every kernel in his mouth at once, but losing many to the floor.

Dan giggled. His heartbeat started going a little faster. “How long we’ve been friends isn’t the point, I’m just trying to say that it’s been a while. I’ve gotten to know you pretty well during that time.”

“That’s probably true. I mean, we’re together almost every day for most of the day. At this rate I’m probably with you more than Suzy,” Arin admitted, and his shoulder slouched just a little bit. His face reminded Dan of a lost puppy; he knew how little time they had together recently with convention season upon them, and with different business opportunities popping up all over. It just seemed like things weren’t working right now.

Maybe this wasn’t the right time to say something.

“I don’t think that’s true. Suzy’s around the office all the time. You guys spend way more time together,” Dan tried to backtrack, starting to feel bad that he was going to say anything at all. 

Arin shrugged, “I guess. It just doesn’t feel like we have any time to sit down at talk. I don’t know.” He shook his head, grabbing more popcorn. “Anyways, what were you saying?”

Dan bit his tongue. He couldn’t say anything now. It would only make things worse, make things more confusing. “It’s not important anymore. We should get started before we get behind schedule.”

Arin eyed him curiously, but didn’t say anything. 

\---

Arin wanted to play Mario Maker… for some reason.

The two men had both settled onto the couch, Arin holding a Wii Remote and a La Croix and Dan with the bowl of popcorn and his cup of tea. They had gotten another list of levels to play, some of the more frustrating than others, but the one Arin settled on had to be one of the hardest things he had ever played. 

He had just died for the fourth time, and he had only made it a few steps into the level each time. 

_“God-fucking-damnit!”_ he screamed, weaving his fingers through his hair to brush the wavy strands out of his face. “We’re trying it again! I don’t care if I die!”

Dan, of course, was laughing. He loved the weird kind of angry that Arin became whenever he played this game, and was convinced that nothing made him laugh more than this playthrough. 

“Try jumping at the start instead of waiting,” Dan suggested in reference to the game, holding back the laughter that was already bubbling up in his throat. He couldn’t see Arin’s sarcastic eye roll, but he knew it was there nonetheless. 

_“Sure_ Dan, I’ll try that. Thank you, o wise sage.” Arin took his advice…

And made it farther into the level.

Dan was belly-laughing, doubled over and almost touching his chest to his knees as he roared with laughter. “Oh my _god_ dude. This is why I love you so fucking much.”

And then the laughter died in his throat.

Oh god, had he actually said that?

Arin was looking. Still laughing, but he was looking. 

“Awww you love me?” he teased, grinning cheekily. 

It would be _so_ easy to just play that off as a joke. This didn’t have to be serious. And it would have been even easier if Dan could find his fucking voice.

He opened his mouth, then shut it. Nothing was coming out. He just looked at Arin with a nervous smile that slowly started to fade into a disappointed frown.

He could see Arin slowly processing what Dan had said, what he had meant. His facial expression shifted as he realized that it wasn’t them goofing around. Dan was serious.  
Maybe he always had been. All those times they’d been joking around during the show, all the things they’ve playfully fantasized about kissing or dating, maybe it wasn’t all just fooling around. That didn’t seem to be the case for Dan, anyways.

“Dan… do you love me?”

Their eyes were locked. They had been for a little while. 

Dan nodded once, then averted his gaze. He couldn’t stand to see Arin’s reaction. He didn’t want to feel the rejection he knew was coming. He started doubting everything; after all, he was crushing on a married man. That alone was enough reason to push his feelings down until they suffocate. 

But they were out in the open now. No more “what-ifs.” This is what Dan wanted all along, to confess. Even if it was rather sloppy and unexpected.

“I’ve always loved you, Arin,” Dan finally stated, looking down at his hands that were folded in his lap. “I’ve loved you this whole time. You’ve always been there for me, you’ve helped me so much ever since we became friends. I mean, shit man, we were just talking about how we spend more time together than you do with your own wife. It’s… it would have been hard _not_ to fall for you.”

And there it was.

His words hung in the like a thick fog. Dan watched through his periphery to see Arin’s expression, and it broke his heart to watch the confusion that swept over him upon hearing what he had said. He was so stupid to think that Arin would even feel the same. What had he been expec--

“Finally,” Arin breathed as he smiled with his teeth. 

Dan’s head whipped around so fast that he quite possibly gave himself whiplash. “What did you say?”

“I said ‘finally’ dude. I’ve been _waiting._ Do you know how obvious you are? Like I didn’t notice you staring at my ass or laughing at every fucking joke I’ve said even when I know I’m not being funny? I’ve known for a long time,” Arin practically shouted, tossing the controller on the couch as his excitement took over. 

Dan was caught up in his disbelief. He couldn’t properly react. All he could say was, “S-Suzy?”

“Suzy… is going to be ecstatic.”

**Author's Note:**

> Tumblr: friendevan
> 
> Do you like this fic? Head on over to my tumblr to make a request!


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